New Arrivals Again

I managed to keep myself mildly busy today, which was actually more of a chore than working would normally be.  Fun.

Got home to find that I had a couple new arrivals at home.  (Alas, no pictures taken.  Maybe later...)

Ages ago, I'd won yet another Powerbook Duo 2300 off eBay.  I should've learned, after the last Duo debacle, which I documented a while back.  But...  Fools don't learn.  And, occasionally, they get lucky.  This is the most functional Duo model I've come across.  Duo keyboards are notorious for gumming up, and becoming non-functional.  This particular one works fine.  And it came with a couple extra batteries, one of which might hold enough of a charge to make it salvageable.  It's running System 7.5, and still has a nice software complement on it.  I'm very happy, as the Duo 2300 is a wonderful little computer, fun to play with.

And, to my surprise, the IBM ThinkPad 380 XD I talked about a couple days ago showed up.  What a beast!  The old bit about the designer of the ThinkPad series using a bento box as his inspiration really comes through in this model.  It's thick, and built like a tank.  Even more surprising was when I accidentally flipped the power switch.  The thing booted!  Off battery!  In the best Bruce Campbell tradition, Groovy!  It's running Win98, and it also still has its applications folder largely intact.  I notice it's missing a few drivers here/there, but everything seems to be working OK otherwise.  Even the TrackPoint, though heavily worn, works perfectly.  (I've got some replacement TrackPoint covers on order, so...)

The ThinkPad seems roughly analogous to my Powerbook 3400C.  (About the same size, too.  Though the 3400 is much more streamlined, so it doesn't appear as thick when placed side-by-side with.)

So, I've got some techie stuff to keep me occupied.  At least until the two other ThinkPads arrive.

In the silly-season file, I actually found myself looking at a refurb'ed Alienware laptop.  (!?!)  Granted, they're cool machines, with scads of power and all sorts of neat (if useless to me) features.  It'd look damn good sitting on my desk, pulsating.  But...  I'm not a gamer.  I have no interest in gaming.  (And, with all the goo-gahs, the battery life is pretty slim compared to even the old computers I use...)

And, more importantly, I can't afford an Alienware system.  (No comment about the hordes of laptops on their way to me.  They cost only pennies by comparison.)  Even a refurb.  And, furthermore, I really don't have any interest in putting more money in Michael Dell's pocket.

I really have to stop looking at computers for sale.

But, if I do that, I'll just start looking at fountain pens................